Working toward Becoming a Socially Responsible Order Instructions: Please read below for information concerning assignment. Support responses with examples and use APA formatting in the paper.
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Identifying a Social Cause for Final Project: Working toward Becoming a Socially Responsible Company Part II
Last week, you completed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis for your company. Hopefully, you have begun researching potential social causes, issues, or nonprofits for your company to adopt. As you consider your options, evaluate whether the alternatives you come across fit with your company’s mission, vision, and ethical framework, as well as any existing social responsibility efforts. Finally, select the new cause that will build upon your company’s strengths. Will selecting this cause support the responsibility owed to your stockholders and stakeholders?
Deliverable:
In a 5- to 7-page Microsoft Word document, present and analyze your top three to four social causes and explain why your social cause or issue is a good match with your chosen corporation for creating a corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign. You will want to be sure that you cover the following items in your report:
• Evaluate how each of your top three to four social causes does or do not meet your company’s mission, vision, and ethical framework, as well as, any on-going social responsibility efforts.
• Discuss how Stockholder Theory and Stakeholder Theory impacted your final selection (based upon your Week 1 reading/lectures)
• Consider which personal ethical framework impacted your final selection and how it impacted your selection(based upon your Week 2 reading/lectures)
• Discuss the internal and the external ethical impacts of your selection (based upon your Week 3 reading/lectures)
• Explain why the social cause you chose is a good fit with your corporation.
Be certain to provide appropriate citations from your reading/research. Also be sure to review the expanded rubric for details on achieving full points.
Working toward Becoming a Socially Responsible Company Part II SAMPLE ANSWER
Working toward Becoming a Socially Responsible Company Part II
Working toward Becoming a Socially Responsible Introduction
As established, General Motor’s Ltd remains one of the omnipresent entities in the U.S that is overall to the economy of the nation. The company engages in corporate philanthropy for a variety of reasons. In this case, it is essential to establish that corporate social responsibility (CSR) infers to business practices that are directed toward developing initiatives that benefit society (Chernev& Blair, 2015). General Motor’s approach in developing its corporate social responsibility is aimed at caring about the interests of stakeholders, an aspect that has seen the entity make several efforts apart from making profits alone.
This paper seeks to establish General Motor’s corporate social responsibility and the manner in which this relates to the company’s mission and vision. In addition to this, the paper will evaluate how the stakeholder theory impacted the final selection of the company’s involvement in CSR, and review the organization’s personal ethical framework. Lastly, the paper will discuss General Motor’s internal and external ethical impacts of the selected activities and establish the rationale for the chosen causes being a good fit for the company.
General Motor’s Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is currently an increasing element within the corporate world. The first impression that people have towards an organization is that several businesses take advantage of their customers and the society, thus alluding to the perception that businesses are only focused on making profits and care less about the environment, society, and human rights (Chernev& Blair, 2015). However, companies that incorporate the element of CSR are bound to boost their reputation in the market, an aspect that increases their brand awareness. In this case, a company stands out as compared to others in the same market even when they share some peculiar similarities such as product quality and price. As a result of this, the sales of an organization increase since consumers choose an organization that is concerned with issues that revolve around their lives.
Secondly, it is important to establish that the inclusion of CSR in an organization reduces their operating costs. Some entities that are good in corporate citizenship derive their efforts towards environmental issues. These companies aid in the protection of the environment by reducing reuse and recycling within the environment (Habel, Schons, Alavi, & Wieseke, 2016). The organizations additionally undertake measures that are aimed at educating employees to care more about the environment, thus decreasing their operational costs over the long run since the companies save energy, water, and other overhead expenses. General Motor’s Corporate Social Responsibility includes:
- Philanthropic Work
In consideration of General Motor’s mission statement that is aimed at directing the company’s commitment towards delivering outstanding cars that give the buyers a positive ownership experience, the company initiated a sports management strategy as an effective component in its CSR activities. General Motor’s vision is to be one of the global leaders in the manufacturing of transport products and other related services (Habel, et.al.2016). The element of sports management remains an integral aspect that incorporates social benefits to different societies. The influence of sports in this contemporary culture continues to grow since it has the capacity to mobilize and attract the society through its inbuilt values such as teamwork, the adherence to rules, and respect for opponents.
On the other hand, sporting events also increase and improve the quality of life, thus promoting peace within the society and bringing people from different cultural backgrounds together. In this case, it is essential to ascertain that sports create a social and economic bridge between individuals within the society, thus integrating both the economic, physical and social values while teaching the society life lessons (Habel, et.al.2016). It is, however, essential to establish that General Motor’s sports management activities are not in compliance with the organization’s mission, vision, and ethics policy that is enshrined on creating lifelong consumers through continual improvements on its products.
- Environmental Programs:
Currently, several organizations are determined to focus on their own carbon emission footprints and establish approaches of reducing these harmful emissions in the environment. General Motor’s being a car manufacturing entity has developed effective approaches to becoming sustainable within the environment by having minimum impact on the environment (Hsieh, 2015). In achieving this element, the organization embarked on a mission of manufacturing vehicles that use electricity rather than petrol. On the other hand, General Motor’s is required by law to report on their emissions of gases, thus seeking to work towards developing a low carbon society.
Additionally, the company also emphasizes the need of a recycle-based society and a society that harmonizes with nature. In order to achieve this, the company draws focus on how its business functions impact the environment during the process of production and sales of its products (Hsieh, 2015). This has seen the company clearly establish everything from the design phase all through top the sales and recycle of its products when they are not useful. It is consequently essential to establish that General Motor’s company environmental programs are in adherence to its mission, vision and ethical policies that are aimed at directing the company’s commitment towards delivering outstanding cars that give the buyers a positive ownership experience.
- Human Rights
It is additionally essential to establish that globalization in the manufacturing industry has placed organizations in a position of taking consideration of human rights. In consideration of this, it is essential to ascertain that General Motor’s in its approach to assembling products domestically for its manufacturing process from other overseas nations undertook measures aimed at ensuring that lax safety conditions and child labor issues are addressed (Hsieh, 2015). As a result of this, the company arrived at a conclusion of not purchasing its manufacturing products from overseas manufacturers who employ children and also initiate unsafe working conditions, an aspect that determines the company’s corporate social responsibility. This element is in compliance with the company’s ethical policies but fails to align with the company’s mission and vision.
Working toward Becoming a Socially Responsible and Stockholder Theory Impact on the Selected Approaches
The stakeholder theory is primarily based on the ideology that beyond the stakeholders of an organization, there are other agents who have an interest in the decisions and actions of an organization (Mishra & Modi, 2016).
are groups of individuals within an organization who either benefit or are harmed by the decisions of an organization. Stakeholders include employees, creditors, customers, the community and suppliers.
The theory, therefore, led to the selection of General Motor’s corporate social responsibility activities. This is in consideration of the fact that companies are required to have a corporate social responsibility that requires them to take consideration and interests on all the individuals and parties that are affected by their actions (Mishra & Modi, 2016). In this case, the management should not only consider the decisions of the stakeholders but everyone affected by the organization’s decisions. In contrast to the classical theory, the stakeholder view purports that the goal of an organization is directed towards flourishing its functions and that of its principal stakeholders.
Personal Ethical Frameworks That Impacted the Selection
It is important to detail that some of the key attributes defining the character and the turn to values within an organization takes consideration of ethical frameworks. Ethics, therefore, plays a significant role in reflecting what the company stands for as compared to what several companies’ advocate for (Mishra & Modi, 2016). The development of social responsibility programs in GM is primarily based on an ethical element that constitutes the company’s objectives, values, and goals that are considered as just and morally sound in guiding the functions of the company.
This element will be effective in cutting down on the company’s expenses that are incurred on its public and legal relations, supplier and customer disappointments and stakeholder rejections within the company (Zlatanović, 2015). The development of GM’s corporate social responsibility has the capacity would enable the company to pursue strategies that would result in its sustainability of ecological and social responsibility practices. In this case, the selection of General Motor’s CSR activities was initiated on a personalized ethical framework that included:
- Developing a society that is caring towards others and self.
- Initiating a sense of competency and control within the community.
- Developing a society that recognizes and accepts individuals from different cultures.
- Taking cognizance of basic human rights of others and self.
Social Cause Chosen as a Good Fit for General Motors
The social causes chosen for General Motor’s remain a good fit for the company since they are developed to help the company bridge the gaps that stand within the society that may hinder its attainment of competitive advantage. As a result of this, the company’s reputation is increased through its CSR activities (Mishra & Modi, 2016). For General Motor’s, there is a need to ensure that its CSR programs achieve its missions in order to run its business functions ethically, an aspect that will result in the minimization of negative environmental impacts, increase employees job satisfaction, and raise the public’s attention on some of the issues the organization attempts to address.
Conclusion
As detailed in this paper, the element of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an increasing element within the corporate world. The first impression that people have towards an organization is that several businesses take advantage of their customers and the society, thus alluding to the perception that businesses are only focused on making profits and care less about the environment, society, and human rights.
Working toward Becoming a Socially Responsible References
Chernev, A., & Blair, S. (2015). Doing Well by Doing Good: The Benevolent Halo of Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal Of Consumer Research, 41(6), 1412-1425. doi:10.1086/680089. Retrieved From: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=101453924&site=ehost-live
Habel, J., Schons, L. M., Alavi, S., & Wieseke, J. (2016). Warm Glow or Extra Charge? The Ambivalent Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility Activities on Customers’ Perceived Price Fairness. Journal Of Marketing, 80(1), 84-105. doi:10.1509/jm.14.0389. Retrived From: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=112613179&site=ehost-live
Hsieh, N. (2015). The Social Contract Model of Corporate Purpose and Responsibility. Business Ethics Quarterly, 25(4), 433-460. doi:10.1017/beq.2016.1. Retrieved From: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=112956284&site=ehost-live
Mishra, S., & Modi, S. B. (2016). Corporate Social Responsibility and Shareholder Wealth: The Role of Marketing Capability. Journal Of Marketing, 80(1), 26-46. doi:10.1509/jm.15.0013. Retrived From: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=112613176&site=ehost-live
